1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chip part handling apparatus which is employed for aligning a plurality of directional chip parts along a prescribed direction and thereafter discharging the same. This handling apparatus can be advantageously adapted to handle chip-type electronic components, for example, for aligning the same along a prescribed direction.
2. Description of the Background Art
A typical example of a chip part handling apparatus is a parts feeder, which comprises a hopper for containing chip parts, and a spiral supply track extending from the hopper. The supply track can feed a plurality of chip parts which are aligned along a prescribed direction. In such a feeder, however, the plurality of chip parts are linearly aligned with each other in the supply track. Therefore, it is impossible to simultaneously discharge the plurality of chip parts which are aligned with each other.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,184 discloses another type of a chip part handling apparatus, which comprises a holding plate having a plurality of holes for receiving a plurality of chip parts one by one therein. According to this apparatus, a plurality of chip parts are supplied from a hopper, to be received in the holes provided in the holding plate along a prescribed direction. This apparatus can simultaneously handle a plurality of chip parts with the holding plate. However, it takes relatively much time to insert the chip parts in the holes of the holding plate along a prescribed direction, while it is relatively troublesome to handle such a plurality of chip parts with the holding plate.